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California State Controller has High Tech Agenda

Even as the state faces record budget deficits, Steve Westly is an advocate for more and better technology solutions

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Steve Westly is no stranger to the power of technology. As an executive with eBay in its early days, Westly was a participant in the development of an Internet phenomena. At GTC West in Sacramento this week, Westly made it clear he intends to bring his technology acumen to bear in his role as the state's top financial officer.

"We will be driving technology through this budget crisis," he said in a luncheon keynote. "We have systems out of date across the board, legacy systems not talking to each other. Again, I wish more legislators actually knew what a legacy system is."

Although Westly's comment drew a chuckle from the crowd, the controller said that getting elected officials to recognize the value of IT is a serious challenge.

As California continues to wrestle with a budget deficit that is somewhere between $34 billion and $40 billion -- depending upon who is talking -- Governor Gray Davis is fighting a recall battle. Westly said these conditions present an additional distraction for the administration and, consequently, for his technology agenda.

Westly is particularly concerned with the "graying of the work force in the state and estimates that about 50 percent of state employees are headed for retirement within the next five to seven years. In addition, he sees a need for procurement reform in a system that often has an 18-month turn-around time. "That just doesn't make sense with technology," he said. The controller said he will advocate for legislation in this arena. "It is not only important," he stated, "it is strategically an imperative and has to be a priority."

Westly also expressed his frustration with the "press corps in Sacramento." Technology in government is most often covered in the mainstream press when there is a "disaster" or a "failure," he noted. This kind of news coverage, he said, makes it very difficult for technology leaders to communicate the importance of IT projects to legislators who tend to be very risk averse. "But it is a risk not to do IT in the state," he said.

The controller expressed his belief that good technology will help the state move through the current budget crisis. "We can use it to cut costs and to streamline," he said, adding that outsourcing -- a bad word in some government circles -- is a successful strategy employed in the private sector, including tech-savvy eBay.

After leaving eBay, Westly worked on Capitol Hill and, later, for the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to joining the high-tech company Westly was on the faculty at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business where he taught public management.